For 17 Christmases now, I've been helping Santa Claus. It's been fun for me and my wife as we have searched for the presents our son has asked to have under the tree Christmas morning. But it hasn't always been easy.

This year's must-have item at our house has been the Sony Playstation 4. The new video game system has been next to impossible to find in stores, and our search has been going on since the system released in November.

But politics impact all of us, and Taylor County residents have a chance to be the change they want to see in the local political scene.

Next May, Taylor Countians will go to the polls and select the candidates they want to face off in the November primary election.

Next year, we will select a mayor and judge/executive, our sheriff and jailer, magistrates and city council members, our district and circuit court judges and state representative and senator, among other officials.

Greetings and happy holidays from Frankfort. Although legislative committees and task forces continue to meet this month, the interim period between legislative sessions is beginning to wind down. Even while not in session, it's been a busy time hearing from many across the state about legislative issues as we approach the 2014 General Assembly.

It won't happen again until the year 79811. That's 77,798 years from now. So if you're Jewish, enjoy the moment.

I'm referring to the concurrence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. Some American Jews are calling it Thanksgivukkah.

Actually Hanukkah begins on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving, which this year falls on Nov. 28. It's a rare occasion for Jews to celebrate two holidays at once, one uniquely American - Thanksgiving - and the other singularly Jewish.

At the risk of sounding like a grouchy old person who just doesn't understand the younger generation, I'm going to share an issue with you that has finally bubbled over, and I can no longer quietly tolerate it.

I'm not sure when it started, but somewhere in the last few years, perhaps even farther back, I've noticed that younger people have been using the word "like" way too often, and they're also using it incorrectly.

I was headed to Louisville for the day. While those in the car were surfing local radio stations, the dial settled on one that surprised me. It was Louisville's all Christmas station. This was the Saturday after Halloween.

While normally I would have started talking about how commercialized the holidays are and we can't even have a few weeks after Halloween before Thanksgiving and Christmas are at the forefront of our lives, I enjoyed the music. And it got me thinking about the upcoming holidays. And, I started to look forward to them.

To paraphrase a song from one of my favorite artists, Bob Seger, we packed up our bags and we took off down the road.

The Central Kentucky News-Journal moved to a new location earlier this month, and while we aren't finished, things are starting to feel like home.

Like any good move, we had a plan. Also like any move, there were things that were unexpected. And now, with the move mostly complete, we have some boxes that are not unpacked and things that aren't where they belong, but we're getting there.